User blog:TheBlueRogue/The Art Direction of DmC: Devil May Cry

At this year's Game Developers Conference, Ninja Theory's Visual Art Director Alessandro Taini spoke about the visual style changes in the re-boot of Devil May Cry. Taini would discus how fashion, music, architecture and art influenced Ninja Theory's decision's when they explored how to bring Dante and Devil May Cry into the new game.

"Imagine Dante in a western movie" - Capcom
The challenge with creating Dante was simply reinventing a popular hero. Looked to various types of Western media to find inspiration.

Fight Club: It's cool! Very grounded in a hollywood movie.

The pillars of Dante's new design were: Cool, Western, Grounded in reality, but stylish

Dante is more like someone you see everyday in the street. Didn't want to have a look that was too fantastical, wanted to make his look not so much a costume, but his normal clothing.

The focus that Dante is a normal guy, he's got power and that needed to be portrayed without it showing in his look too much.

Capcom wanted something much more than a clothes switch out. White hair is a key element, but seperating from that quality could give more room to work.

Insipirations on origins: Dexter (television show), Perfume (movie)

What if Dante had a shock when he was a child, and something happened, perhaps the killing his mom?

After the shock, the white patch appears in his hair, and that would be a sign of his demonic side.

Rebellion was a strong characteristic of his personality.

Really wanted something to see from the eyes, see from the eye that he's a bad guy. But maybe not on the inside.

Don't care attitude. Street guy.

Limbo
Needed an idea why Dante is fighting an empty place, a feel like it's a real city.

A parallel world, in this world only Dante is there. He's fighting demons, the city is actually a reflection of the real city. There are reflections, you establish through the cutscene that things are living, breathing around him.

Surrealism as Hell.

Dreams and madness, given as the means to overcome the rationality.

The main city of inspiration was Barcelona. Building styles were heavily influenced by Gothic, Neo-Gothic, Romantic Gothic, Modern Gothic.

Very italian look to Limbo. Made sure it was important to give the city actual colors. Not just gray, stones, it's a lot of accented colors.